Well, after a long summer of mixed weather,
great times and plenty of new drinks, it's
the month for all those in school to return
to the
classroom. Good luck!

Oh yeah, it's also Bourbon Heritage Month so
you may find a few things bourbon as well.

We've stuffed this month full of new content,
a new writer and some great new recipes. The
Raven also introduces our Tales of the
Cocktail swag contest where you can win a
collection of stuff we picked up. Check out
his article below. We hope you enjoy this
month's edition.

We've also implemented a RSS feed to update
you on
all the latest entries to the database. You
can find the page here...

Please be smart, don't drink and drive!
Enjoy the following recipes in moderation and
take a cab if you need one.

Cheers!

Dan Hutchinson

Hendrick's Gin - The Highland Berry

The Highland Berry

1 oz. Hendrick's Gin

1/2 oz. black raspberry liqueur

3 oz. cranberry juice

2 oz. tonic water

cranberries for garnish

Add Hendrick's Gin, black raspberry liqueur
and cranberry juice into a shaker. Stir and
shake well. Strain into cocktail glass and
top with tonic water and garnish with frozen
cranberries. Add ice if desire.

My friends, I have a problem. You see, a few
weeks back I went to this little industry
event in New Orleans called Tales
of the Cocktail; maybe you've heard of it
(or maybe
you've been living under a rock and not
reading my articles). In any case, like at
all great events, our contingent was able to
gather a truly offensive amount of swag
(which I'll thank the writers of The Office
for clearing up for me: Stuff We All Get!)
Herein lies my problem: Dan says I've got to
give some of it away. Now, I worked hard to
collect this stuff, so I'm not just going to
give it away. "Worked hard?" I hear you cry.
"What was so hard about collect free stuff?"
Just ask my liver...

As it turns out, I've got a contest I've
been looking to run for a few months now that
was just begging for a prize. Being the
intelligent person I am, I put two and two
together and got five...well o.k., 25 (work
with me here.) Have I piqued your interest?
O.k. then, here it goes:

Win The Raven's
SWAG

The Raven is throwing a party and needs tunes
to keep it going. He is looking for the
playlist to beat all playlists. Of course,
there are a few restrictions to what he'll
play.

Each playlist must be exactly 25 songs.

This is a drinking song playlist (and a
contest on a cocktail site!) All songs must
deal with alcohol, drinking, or be
traditionally recognized as a drinking song.

No more than 7 songs may be from the same
genre, and no more than 10 from the same decade.

The Raven is eclectic. A great playlist
for him will span over 100 years.

Playlist order matters! Be sure to give
us an explanation and walk us through your
playlist.

One entry per person, so get it right the
first time. The Raven and Dan (and possibly
a few others) will make the final decision as
to the winner. Points will be given for
creative playlists that have a natural
progression, as well as heterogeneity. Be
prepared to explain a strange song pick; if
we don't get it, and you can't justify it,
you lose points. Also, classics are called
such because they are recognized as great;
you can use them, but if we get two people
with matching lists, you're both disqualified.

All entries must be submitted here
by October 18th at midnight. Depending on
the number of entries, we will try to have
the results by the October newsletter. So
what are the prizes?

Lot's of great stuff right? Well, even if
you can't tell what it all is, it's still
lots of great stuff. There may be more
depending on where you are and what other
goodies we manage to acquire between now and
then. There may even be a second prize, if
we really feel that it is deserved.

What? You're still here? The contest wasn't
enough for you? You want content as well?
You know, I've got a life too! Oh, o.k., I
guess I can dig something up. Did'ja hear
the news about Budweiser? Bought by the
Belgians? Crazy...we'll have to see where
that goes.

While out at ToC, I had the chance to try
some cachaca (pronounced ka-sha-sa). For
those unfamiliar, as I was, cachaca is a type
of rum made in Brazil. It differs from
straight rum in that the liquor is made
entirely from the juice of the crushed sugar
cane, and not from any remnant thereof.
Having just been introduced to it, I can't
claim to know the finer points, but the
bottle I got from the fine folks at Sagatiba
certainly showed some promise.

(As an aside, I just want everyone to know
that I am not 'phoning this in'. It is a
little bit after 10 in the morning and I've
just poured myself two shots, one of Sagatiba
and one of Bacardi in an effort to give you
the best possible analysis. I hope you
appreciate the sacrifices I make for you.)

Comparably, the two bottles are matched in
proof, which is handy in doing comparisons
(and which would completely devalue any
comparison I'd make otherwise.) The Sagatiba
is definitely smoother, with a cleaner taste
than the Bacardi, which is expected from any
single-ingredient bottle. Of note, the
Sagatiba also has a much sweeter bouquet.

I've only had the chance to make one
cocktail with the Sagatiba, kind of a
Brazilian mojito, which I snagged from an
episode of Kevin Brauch's Thirsty
Traveler.
It was, in a word, delightful. I'll get
around to making more, but with work and
school starting (MBA here I come! Donations
are being accepted!), it might be a little
while before I can sit down to a tasting session.

Anyway, it is now time that I get on with
life, one can only live the dream of
'professional booze columnist' for so long.
Stay cool out there, and send
in your playlists!

CAW!

About The Raven

J.T. "Raven" Centonze has been a long time
student
of the art of alcohol. Initially interested
in keeping
conversation at parties, his love for alcohol
grew to
an obsession in college. In between his real
job of
running a college bookstore or two, he is the
part
owner/operator of his own winery. He
bartends at
private parties which allows him the
innovation of
many new, unique drinks.

The Raven now has his own
e-mail address at the BarNoneDrinks. Please
send all questions, comments, and suggestions
related "The Raven's Caw" to
raven@barnonedrinks.com. Also accepted at
this address are job offers, death threats,
marriage proposals, offers to enlarge certain
parts of my anatomy, awards nominations,
petitions for absolution and anything else
The Raven might need to know about.

Many drink recipes call for fruit juice.
While some might find that adding bottled or
canned fruit juice works just fine, others
swear that using fresh fruit juice makes all
the difference between an ok drink and one
that is outstanding.

You probably think that juicing fruits is a
bit of a hassle. And, sure, it does take a
little more time that opening a bottle or
popping the top of a can. But, once you get
the hang of it, you'll realize that it isn't
as hard as you thought, and that the benefits
are amazing.

Before you can even think about squeezing
your own juice, you need to invest in a
juicer. There are several types to choose
from. One of the most basic juicers is the
manual press variety. This type of juicer is
maneuvered by hand and is ideal for soft
fruits. A centrifugal juicer shreds or grates
the fruits and then spins it to release the
juice. The last type of a masticating juicer.
As the name suggests, a masticating juicer
basically chews the fruit in order to break
down its cell walls to create a high fiber juice.

Once you have selected the juicer of your
choice, now you need the fruit. Be aware that
you will need a fairly large amount of fruit
if you want even a glass of fresh juice.

Fruits such as avocado, bananas and
strawberries aren't the ideal fruits for
juicing, although they do work well for
blending in extra flavors. These types of
fruits contain small amounts of water, so
they won't yield much liquid.

When looking for an ideal fruit for juicing,
you want to make sure that you choose those
that contain large amounts of water. Grapes,
pears, apples, peaches, grapefruit, oranges,
watermelon, and cantaloupe are all fruits
that will juice well and taste great. Softer
fruits, such as pears and peaches will
produce a thicker juice, often referred to as
nectar, and some will even yield a juice that
is thick. As a rule of thumb, remember that
the softer a certain type of fruit is the
thicker its created juice will be.

Once you have run your preferred fruit
through your juicer, you may notice that it
has a large amount of pulp in it. Some people
prefer their juice to have contain this pulp,
but others may not like their drink to
contain any sort of chunks. If you are among
the latter, you can remove the pulp by
straining the juiced liquid through a coffee
filter or cheesecloth.

Now that you know how about juicers and how
to select fruits, you should also learn just
how much freshly squeezed juice can benefit
your health. Not only can you get your daily
allowance of fruits, and often vegetables if
you decide to juice them and add them to your
drink, you can also add the enzymes and
nutrients that you need to your diet. You
will also consume a great amount of fiber
that can help you to control how quickly your
bloodstream absorbs sugar.

Next time you see a recipe that requires
fruit juice, or you just have a hankering for
a nice tall glass of your favorite juice,
don't take the easy route and turn to
manufactured products. Juice your own and
know that you are getting exactly the taste
you want, as well as the healthy benefits
your body deserves.

Val, Val Val. What do we say about Val? I
can say that she's been doing a bunch of work
for us here at Bar None for the last few
months, but most of it site related, not for
our newsletter. However, I think she'll
start becoming a regular feature here so we
hope you enjoy her writing from some little place
called Hoboken or was it Halifax? Hmm, maybe
it was Hammonton. Wherever it was, she's
doing a fine job and we're happy to have her
aboard.

Absolut - Summer Smash

Summer Smash

2 parts Absolut Citron

1 part Lime And Lemongrass Cordial

1 part Melon Liqueur

Passionfruit Juice

Lime

Mint Leaf

Orange

Fill a highball glass to the rim with ice
cubes. Pour Absolut Citron, lime and
lemongrass cordial and melon liqueur into a
shaker. Fill the shaker with ice cubes and
shake it until the shaker is very cold.
Strain the drink into the highball glass. Top
up with passionfruit juice. Garnish with a
lime (peel), a mint leaf (leaf) and an orange
(slice).

Like taxes and people who gasp "Oh, I can't
drink that!" when you say you like tequila,
dieters are inevitable. They'll sneak into
your house or your bar, acting normal until
you ask what they're drinking. Suddenly, the
dieters are full of requests: do you have
diet tonic water? How many calories are in
the well rum? Can you replace the martini
olives with something a little less
fattening, like garlic-stuffed multivitamins?

Unfortunately, telling a dieter that he
should just consume regular cocktails in
moderation doesn't usually work. Thus,
whether you're a professional bartender or
just an accommodating host or hostess, it's
important to be able to make a few diet
drinks. Mostly you can get away with knowing
the basics: dark beers, like stouts,
generally have fewer calories than light ones
like wheat beers. Any cocktail mixed with
cream will have a high calorie count, and
anything with fresh fruit will be relatively
low. If a dieter is looking for something
warm and comforting like coffee with
Bailey's, he'll generally be happy with a Hot
Toddy instead.

But there are also a number of substitutions
you can make when crafting drinks for
dieters. Consider making one of these
updated cocktails:

Whiskey Sour. Commercial sours mix
is often filled with sugar and nasty
additives. Instead of using such a mix,
prepare a whiskey sour by floating a single
"Atomic Warhead" sour candy on top of a shot
of Maker's Mark.

White-Chocolate Raspberry Martini.
The first substitution to this drink should
be obvious: replace the raspberry liqueur
with delicious and healthy fresh raspberries.
The texture of Godiva White Chocolate
Liqueur, meanwhile, can be replaced with skim
milk. Finally, replace the vodka with water.
I call this "Raspberry Milk Water." If
you're worried that the alcohol content is
too minimal, let the mix sit behind a
radiator in a plastic bag for a few weeks
until it ferments.

Pomegranate Cosmopolitan. A great
diet replacement for this cocktail can be
made with new "low-cal" beers. Replace the
pomegranate juice with Michelob ULTRA
Pomegranate Raspberry. Replace the lime
juice with Michelob ULTRA Lime Cactus.
Replace the triple sec with Michelob ULTRA
Tuscan Orange Grapefruit. Replace the vodka
with tears. The Sex and the City
girls would be proud.

Gin and Tonic. I call this one
the "Hot Air Balloon." Mix a typical gin and
tonic, but replace the tonic water with air.
Then place two slices of lime with a slice
of lemon in-between on the rim to mimic the
pattern of a balloon.

Manhattan. Blindfold the dieter
and drive him to Times Square. Drop the
dieter off, throw a shot of whiskey in his
face, and make him run home.

As you can see, accommodating the needs of a
dieter can be simple. And remember: there's
a good chance that the dieter is hungry and
consuming drinks on an empty stomach. Just
be warned.

This is the latest cocktail creation by NYC
Insieme Restaurant's bartender Marshall
Altier. His most recent creation
appropriately named the Midtown Mule is an
ideal and refreshing way to end a hot summer
day or transition to warm fall evenings.
Altier plays on two very popular trends
present in the cocktail world - the
resurgence of gin-based cocktails as well as
the use of vegetables in drinks. The all star
combination makes the Midtown Mule an
excellent addition to the thriving cocktail
culture in New York City.

Midtown Mule

1/6 cucumber (sliced into coins)

2 oz. Plymouth Gin

1oz. fresh lime juice

1/2 oz. cardamom syrup*

1/2 oz. Cointreau

Place cucumber slices and cardamon syrup in a
tin and muddle to paste. Pour in remaining
ingredients
and shake. Pour over fresh ice in a collins
glass and
top with ginger beer. Garnish with a wedge
of lime and 2 cucumber slices.

To produce Cardamom Syrup:

Steep 2 Tbsp. of black Cardamom pods in hot
water. Combine the pods with equal parts
sugar and water and steep until consistent.
Cool mixture and bottle for later use.

Averna ran a cocktail competition from
January 1st through March 31st. All entries
were divided into three geographical regions:
Northeast, Southeast/Midwest and West. A
judging panel of leading spirits experts
selected 10 semifinalists from each region to
move on to the regional semifinals scheduled
in San Francisco, New York and Miami
respectively. A total of five semifinalists
were selected from the three regional
competitions (two each from the San Francisco
and New York competitions, one from the Miami
competition)

This was created by Jeffrey Hollinger,
Absinthe Brasserie & Bar San Fransisco

Midnight In Sicily

6 Mint Leaves

1 1/2 oz. Averna Bitters - Amaro

1 oz. Tanqueray Gin

1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour Sauce - Blood
Orange Agrodolce

Combine ingredients in an ice filled cocktail
shaker and shake for 20 to 30 seconds, or
until well chilled. Double strain through a
fine meshed strainer into a chilled cocktail
glass. Garnish with a flamed blood orange rind.

According to a recent survey of Washington DC
bartenders, Democrats tip better and give
better toasts while Republicans are more
likely to order their drinks straight up, but
we're sure both parties will be celebrating
this summer in Denver and Minneapolis. Now
is the time for the nominees to debate the
issues and raise a glass to democracy, and
their bartenders.

We start off with the first 4 of 8 recipes
dedicated to this theme this month. Stay
tuned for the rest in October.

Time for a ChangeOut with the old, in with the new.

Bartender: Steve King and Owen Thomson,
Bourbon, Washington, DC

2 1/2 parts Jim Beam Black Bourbon

1/4 part DeKuyper Signature Triple Sec

1/2 part Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 part Blueberry Juice

1/2 part Lavender Honey Simple Syrup

Dash of Orange Bitters

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker.
Shake and serve in a sugar rimmed martini glass.

The Grand Ole PartyWill Republicans reign supreme in '08?

Bartender: Pat M., Twin Cities,
Minneapolis, MN

2 parts Canadian Club Whisky

1 part DeKuyper Signature Crème de Menthe
(clear)

1 part DeKuyper Blustery Peppermint Burst
Schnapps

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass filled
with ice. Fill an old-fashioned glass with
shaved ice, strain spirits over ice and serve
with straw.

The Running MateHunting has never been the same. What will
the new vice president's legacy be?

Bartender: James Lee, West End Tavern,
Boulder, CO

2 parts Maker's Mark Bourbon

1 part simple syrup

2 wedges of lemon

1 slice of watermelon

Muddle lemon and watermelon with simple
syrup. Add Maker's Mark and ice. Shake and
strain into a large old fashioned glass with
fresh crushed ice. Garnish with a slice
watermelon & lemon wheel

The Purple StatesIndependents rule as the candidates fight
it out in fear of the hanging chad.

Pour the Courvoisier Exclusif into a
sugar-rimmed brandy snifter. In a separate
mixing glass, combine the Starbucks Coffee
Liqueur and Knob Creek and stir. Ignite the
cognac slowly turning the snifter and
rotating it so as to caramelize all the
sugars on the rim of the snifter. Express the
two orange peels into the brandy snifter so
as to coat the inside of the glass with the
caramelized orange oils. (This should create
quite a spark so be careful!) Discard the
orange peels. Strain the coffee
liqueur/bourbon mixture directly into the
brandy snifter, putting out the flame. Layer
the almond cream on top of the mixture.
Allow to cool and enjoy carefully as the
brandy snifter may be quite hot around the rim.

Mixologist Matthew McCormick Wins
Consulting Contract with his "Henny Honey"
Cocktail and receives a trip to the House of
Hennessy in Cognac, France

Hennessy,
the number 1 selling cognac in
the world, announced today the results of its
2007 Hennessy "Art of Mixing" contest. Held
in conjunction with the Hennessy "Art of
Mixing" Academy, events hosted in five
different cities across the country. More
than 150 mixlogists attended the Hennessy
"Art of Mixing" Academy, learning about
Hennessy and the role of cognac in the
history of cocktails.

As a part of the Hennessy "Art of Mixing"
Academy mixologists vied to be selected as a
consultant to Hennessy by participating in
the Art of Mixing contest, by submitting an
original Hennessy cocktail recipe for
consideration. Mixologist Matthew McCormick
of Los Angeles, with his cocktail "Henny
Honey" won the contest and was selected as a
consultant to the brand.

"Selecting a winner for the Hennessy "Art of
Mixing" contest was difficult," said
Thanh-Nam Vo Duy, Senior Brand Manager from
Mo­ët Hennessy. "There were phenomenal
contenders, with some of the most innovative
recipes in years. We chose Mr. McCormick's
'Henny Honey' because of its great balance of
flavors, highlighting perfectly the quality
of Hennessy in premium drinks. We believe
that Mr. McCormick will add value to our
already impressive team with his creative ideas."

As part of his "Art of Mixing" consulting
services, Mr. McCormick will travel to the
House of Hennessy in Paris and Cognac, France
where he will consult with Hennessy's Master
blenders to develop five new and unique
cocktails for Hennessy. Additionally, Mr.
McCormick will offer his expertise with
regard to marketing and promoting existing
Hennessy cocktails and will participate on a
panel discussion on cocktails in the US Market.

Hennessy will host the 2008 Hennessy "Art of
Mixing" Academy in five cities: Detroit, Los
Angeles, New York, New Orleans and Miami.
Mixologists will again have the chance to
compete for the chance to win a consultancy
contract with Hennessy.

The 2007 Hennessy "Art of Mixing" Winning
Cocktail Recipe:

Henny Honey

6 basil leaves

1 1/2 oz. Hennessy

1/2 oz. honey syrup (2 parts honey & 1
part water)

1 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

Bruise basil leaves in a shaker, add
Hennessy, honey syrup and grapefruit juice.
Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a
martini glass and garnish with a fresh basil
leaf.

September is upon us and with it brings a
celebration of the true American spirit -
bourbon. It was only a year ago that U.S.
Congress delegated September "National
Bourbon Heritage Month", though the spirit
has been around almost as long as our country
itself.

Thomas Jefferson stars in our bourbon lineup,
though the founding father actually took an
interest in wine. He traveled through the
European wine regions, and even planted
vineyards at Monticello.

Citrus
Press$5.95
This high-quality citrus press is perfect
for squeezing lemon, lime, and orange
halves. The citrus press measures 9" long
when closed and has a black gripper handle to
help you get your squeeze on.